EW predicts the 2007 Tony Award winners

Will Richard Nixon finally find redemption? Will the former Jessica Fletcher (a.k.a. Angela Lansbury) become a five-time winner? And, most important, on June 10, will anyone actually be watching the Tony Awards (8 p.m., CBS), which air opposite the Sopranos series finale? Here, EW predicts the winners in all 25 categories…and hopes that one or two theater fans pick the Tonys over Tony.

Best MusicalCurtainsGrey GardensMary PoppinsSpring Awakening

PREDICTED WINNERSpring AwakeningIt made what I thought was an absolutely transformative move from Off Broadway to Broadway — bringing the show to a whole new, exhilarating level — and won nearly every other theatrical award this season. Voters turned off by the sexed-up story and songs like ”Totally F—ed” might go with the more sedate (though still striking) Gardens, but it’s Spring‘s night to shine.

Best PlayThe Coast of Utopia, by Tom Stoppard Frost/Nixon, by Peter Morgan The Little Dog Laughed, by Douglas Carter Beane Radio Golf, by August Wilson

PREDICTED WINNERFrost/NixonUtopia was the snob hit of the season, and the three plays — Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage — certainly earned their share of critical adoration (I’m still swooning over Shipwreck). So how could the measly 115-minute Frost/Nixon trump an 8-and-1/2-hour ode to Russian history? Simple: It’s short, snappy, and (unlike Utopia) still running. The fact that Ron Howard is making the movie doesn’t hurt either. Out-of-town voters may not have made it to all three parts of Utopia, but you can bet they had two hours to spare for Frost/Nixon.

Best Revival of a PlayInherit the WindJourney’s EndTalk RadioTranslations

PREDICTED WINNERJourney’s EndIf only this splendid revival of R.C. Sherriff’s 80-year-old war drama had found an audience — the long-suffering show is closing on Tony afternoon.

Best Revival of a MusicalThe Apple TreeA Chorus LineCompany110 in the Shade

PREDICTED WINNERCompanyIt’s not that the John Doyle-directed revival — with the actors doubling as the orchestra — was universally rapturously received; it’s that the others are simply not up to Company‘s level. Besides, no one ever feels guilty casting a vote for Stephen Sondheim.

Best Special Theatrical EventJay Johnson: The Two and Only!Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway

PREDICTED WINNERJay JohnsonHis ventriloquist act opened and closed pretty quickly, but audiences across the country know Johnson from his Soap days. Kiki & Herb is largely a New-York cabaret thing.

NEXT PAGE: Predicting the Tony winners for Leading Actor and Actress in a Play and in a Musical